Background: University of Olivet

The University of Olivet was founded in 1844. With just over 900 enrolled students, it’s a private Christian liberal arts university in Olivet, Michigan. The university was the second co-educational college in the United States and its rich history and diversity continues to this day.

Challenges

Streamlining Student Access

Dr Amy Radford-Popp is the Dean of Student Engagement and joined the university just before the Covid-19 pandemic. “Upon starting at the college I realized we were lacking a digital engagement presence.” Dr Radford-Popp began some research including speaking to other nearby institutions using the Ready Education app. She also explored if the university could build an app in-house with students, before selecting the Ready app.  

Another reason why the university was seeking an app was that they wanted to bring the student experience to life. There was a lack of engagement with emails as well as students not knowing everything happening on campus.

Why the Ready Application?

Dr Radford-Popp goes on to explain that another attractive element of the Ready Education product was the data aspect and that the app would enable the university to collect lots of data on how students were engaging with the university and how the university was engaging with students. Other additional benefits were that the app would really add a digital presence to the university - meeting students where they were on their smartphones as well as assisting with understaffing issues at the university.

As well as the data that was available to the university with the Ready app, the other clear benefit to working with Ready Education was the help and support available to them.

Scalability

Although the university hasn’t yet completed a full academic year with their new app, they have already noticed a difference. The app is a resource for the university as well as a social tool. Students and faculty are now approaching the team asking how they can get involved with the app, as well as share content such as events on there. For Jason it has been useful to have events all in one place and now the thinking is “Hey! If you want to know what is happening on campus with student events and clubs, there is an app for that. You can take action from your phone, and it’s much more convenient.”

The university is looking forward to integrating the app into every aspect of university culture. They are also excited to use Forms to deploy in-app surveys related to advising needs, career goals, mental health check-ins, and overall wellness. The team also plans to dive into the data over the summer and find other ways of engaging with students. There are also plans to engage with other audiences linked to the university such as parents, alumni and the local community.